Retailers Revamp Political Giving Policies Ahead of 2012 Campaign

"We were very surprised and disappointed by the statements made by Lady Gaga's organization related to her partnership with Target," Target said in a statement last week.

"Target remains committed to the LGBT community as demonstrated by our contributions to various LGBT organizations, our recently established Policy Committee to review our political giving and our respectful, inclusive workplace environment."

A spokeswoman for Best Buy declined to discuss the changes to the company's policy.

The businesses are eager to put the incident behind them, said Schultz, and cultivate a proactive public relations strategy for political contributions ahead of the 2012 presidential campaign.

"After this incident, I think companies are going to look for ways to use political contributions more to their benefit," said Schultz. "In 2012, we might see more businesses merge their politics, marketing and retail together, some even being willing to voluntarily disclose this to use it to their advantage."